Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Roundy's stores (Copps, Pick 'n Save, and Rainbow) double 5 coupons up to $1 per $25 order every Wednesday and Saturday. There are several deals this week, so here are some printable coupon matches to help you make your list. Check your coupon stash to see if you can find more matches. ADC=After Doubled Coupon. For printing tips, click here. Questions? Feel free to email me.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

My friend Heather did a post about saving money on homeschooling supplies by buying ahead, and I wanted to share how I have saved money by using this method as well. I shop ahead, too, both to get better deals and spread out the cost. I will be officially homeschooling 3 kids next year (3rd, 1st, and kindergarten), plus a 3 year-old and a 1 year-old. I figure I have spent about $150 so far, with only $100 or so to go, and because I have spread it out, it doesn't "hurt" the budget as much!

So far for next year I have:*All the My Father's World-Exploring Countries and Cultures I need, bought on ebay and saved almost $200! This is our History, Bible, Geography, Science, Art, and Reading for multiple grades*I have everything I need for M (kindergarten) by using workbooks I have accumulated through the years, while including her in our group curriculum.*Language Arts for H (4th) bought on ebay*Math for G (1st) bought on ebay*Teacher's Manuals for Lang Arts and Reading for G (2nd) that I used last year with H.

This is what I still need:*Math workbooks for H $32 new--still hoping to find them on eBay (see below)*Workbooks for G for Lang Arts and Reading (2nd) $58 new--hoping to find some on eBay*Print off some free worksheets and games online for my kindergartner and preschooler throughout the year (see below).*I might pick up workbooks here and there to supplement for my kindergartner and preschooler, but won't spend much, probably less than $10, and I'll be keeping my eyes open at Half Price Books this summer (see below).*I'm still thinking about what to do about Spanish as this item can get pricey. . . any recommendations?

Other ways to save money on curriculum:*Use the library! I supplement our curriculum A LOT by using our library system. We go to the library every week, and I continually place items on hold to supplement our curriculum with everything from good literature to history books and biographies to science materials to educational DVDs. We have four library cards, and every week we have a large stack of items waiting for us!

*Borrow from others. I let a friend of mine borrow my teacher's manuals for a grade I wasn't using this year. We also shared a book that we both needed, passing it back and forth.

*Buy on Amazon. Sometimes there are books that I can buy on Amazon. I can use the gift cards I have earned through Swagbucks and then these items are FREE! Also, many books are included in their buy 3, get the 4th free promotion! I also buy their piano books on Amazon.

*eBay. You can even find consumable workbooks "used" on eBay for cheaper, because often someone will try a curriculum and then change their mind--and the rest of the set will be brand new. Know what you are looking for, do a search and then save it. Elect to have eBay email you every time something with those keywords is listed, so you don't miss a good deal! After doing a search, click on "advanced search" and "save this search to My eBay". Then under My eBay, click on "saved searches", find your search, and on the right side click on "more actions" and "sign up for emails".

*Earn free books. I love books! I started collecting children's books before I was married. (I was a preschool teacher, so I had a valid excuse to hide behind!) There are many ways to expand your personal library for free. Right now you can earn up to 5 free books from Scholastic and Kumon. During the summer you can often earn free books and prizes through your local library's reading program, from Half Price Books (our personal favorite!), from Barnes & Noble, and others! As I hear about them, I will post them here, but go digging around in your city and see what you can find!

*Use a free curriculum. I have friends who use free curriculum online, supplementing with the library, and don't spend much out of pocket. SimplyCharlotteMason Online and Ambleside Online are two that I have heard about, but haven't checked into.

*Use free printable worksheets. There are many free worksheets available to print online that you can use for almost all grades. Here are some math worksheets, sight word game printables with fun characters like Pooh, Cars, and Cinderella, and Sparklebox has printables covering shapes, letters, math, and more. You can always do a search for "free printable worksheets", inserting if you want them to be for math, reading, dot-to-dots, etc--and be sure to search with Swagbucks so you can earn while you search!

Heather has a few more ideas, so be sure to read her post, too. Now I want to hear from you. How do you save on homeschool curriculum?

Friday, April 22, 2011

I noticed some new coupons available to print that will make for some free or nearly free items on double coupon day! Remember, you can print two of each coupon. There are over 100 coupons, so head over and see if there are more you are interested in printing.$1.00/1 Reach Floss

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

F (almost 3) was sitting on my lap, and we were playing things like "This is the Way the Ladies Ride" and other songs. Here's a funny conversation that followed.

Me: I know, let's do "The Wheels on the Bus".F: Mommy, do the "diapers" one!Me: I don't think I know the "diapers" song.F: Yes you do! The "diapers" on the bus go swish, swish, swish!Me:(laughing) It's not "diapers", it's WIPERS! Like for the rain!F: Oh! Me: I don't think we would want diapers swishing on a bus, do you?F: No, that would be really stinky!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Roundy's stores (Copps, Pick 'n Save, and Rainbow) double 5 coupons up to $1 per $25 order every Wednesday and this Saturday they will double 10 coupons per $25 order. There are several deals this week, so here are some printable coupon matches to help you make your list. Check your coupon stash to see if you can find more matches. ADC=After Doubled Coupon. For printing tips, click here. Questions? Feel free to email me.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

We recently celebrated our anniversary, and the girls kept wishing us a "happy anniversary" all day. Sweet little F did the best she could making sense of a word she didn't know. She kept going around all day saying,

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Roundy's stores (Copps, Pick 'n Save, and Rainbow) double 5 coupons up to $1 per $25 order every Wednesday and this Saturday they will double 10 coupons per $25 order. There are several deals this week, so here are some printable coupon matches to help you make your list. Check your coupon stash to see if you can find more matches. For printing tips, click here. Questions? Feel free to email me.

Roundy's stores (Copps, Pick 'n Save, and Rainbow) double 5 coupons up to $1 per $25 order every Wednesday and this Saturday they will double 10 coupons per $25 order. There are several deals this week, so here are some printable coupon matches to help you make your list. Check your coupon stash to see if you can find more matches. For printing tips, click here. Questions? Feel free to email me.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Request a free Safe Water Science Kit from PUR, a kit that will help you teach your children how water is cleaned and purified for drinking in developing countries and disaster relief situations. You can also download lessons online.

Discounted Gift Certificates

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Check out my "Coupon 101" posts for getting started. Abbreviations have you confused? Go to "Coupon Lingo" for a crash course. And always feel free to email me with questions. I do this because I want to help others! :-) Printing issues? Click here for some help.